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Chapter 251 Injuries Caused by the Evil Seed

"Fengzhou has enough grain, but it is still a drop in the ocean when it comes to the poor people of Kyushu."

"However, this meager amount of food can at least help the people get through the winter, and things will surely get better next year."

"Brother Ji really did what he said before, and he saved many more children."

At this moment, Kuang Cheng was in his residence in Shengjing City, sitting around a blazing fireplace, flipping through all the letters sent by Wulu Trading Company from all over the Nine Provinces, and then looking up at the painting of a gentleman hanging on the wall.

Honestly, he felt that Ji You's merits were worthy of the title of saint, but he didn't know why he wouldn't accept the title of gentleman.

Wei Rui was beside him at this moment, holding an account book in her hand, carefully calculating the amount of relief grain sold.

From establishing the business to transporting grain, and then to how to buy and sell, the Wulu Business took them more than three months to complete, and there were many twists and turns along the way.

There was an incident of embezzlement in Liangzhou, but fortunately it was discovered in time.

As for the fact that a powerful family from Lingzhou had come to cause trouble, they had heard about it, but they didn't pay much attention to it.

Although Fairy Yan was always surrounded by strange men, her behavior during those few days in Fengzhou made it seem as if she had already married into the family, which was undeniable.

How could Fairy Yan allow others to disrupt what her husband wanted to do?

Sure enough, news soon came that the imposing ancestor had taken a wooden board the next day and spent three whole days carving a plaque at the entrance.

Even the staff at Wulu Trading Company were surprised, seemingly never expecting their master's background to be so profound...

Kuang Cheng put down the letter in his hand, glanced at the white snow outside the window, then took out the silver from his pocket and weighed it in his hand.

In fact, human life is extremely tenacious; given a mouthful of food, one can live for a long time.

After this batch of relief grain was sent out, it was finally able to help the people get through the cold winter. As spring came next year, life would gradually begin to get better.

Thinking of this, Kuang Cheng felt relieved. He then called Wei Rui and left home. They went to the East Market, bought many things, and went to the orphanage in the West City.

The actions of the Worry-Free Merchant Guild did not cause much discussion in Shengjing, far less than the marriage between a scion of a prominent family and a daughter of another prominent family.

Perhaps it's because cultivators truly don't concern themselves with worldly affairs...

After that, winter snow fell until deep winter.

After the Heavenly Dao Assembly ended, the situation in Qingyun Tianxia changed somewhat, but not significantly.

The change was that after the young master of Lingjian Mountain entered the Boundless Realm, he forced the momentum of Tianjian Peak to gradually decline. As a result, many large families in Lingzhou began to distance themselves from Tianjian Peak and attach themselves to Xuanjian Peak.

This year, the new disciples of Lingjian Mountain, regardless of their aptitude, have all chosen to enter Xuanjian Peak.

Today, Xuanjian Peak already possesses the imposing presence of the main peak of Lingjian Mountain, and the young Master Jian already exudes the authority of a sect leader.

The fact that a sect leader in her twenties could be so unsettling is enough to make one wonder what weaknesses such a fairy could possibly have.

However, the maidservant who followed the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain knew best that the appraiser still had weaknesses.

After returning from the Heavenly Dao Society, the Master of Appraisal became somewhat afraid of sticks and similar objects.

Another related event is that Shang Xiyao, the disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect who had been in seclusion for a year, broke through his cultivation in the middle realm of Yingtian.

He didn't even appear at the Heavenly Dao Assembly in order to break through the barrier, and his emergence this time certainly did not disappoint. Of course, what is most eye-catching is that he has been pursuing the young appraiser of Spirit Sword Mountain.

Shang Xiyao did not disappoint. As soon as he emerged from seclusion, news spread that he wanted to visit Lingjian Mountain, but he was refused by the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain.

Meanwhile, a startling piece of news came out.

It is said that the young master of Lingjian Mountain personally admitted that he already has someone he loves.

This news immediately caused a huge uproar.

Although everyone knows that the young master of Lingjian Mountain must get married to ensure the continuation of her power, there is always a feeling that no man in the Qingyun world is worthy of her.

Even Shang Xiyao, a direct disciple of the Daoist Sect, is still inferior to Yan Shuyi.

But apart from those directly descended from the Immortal Sect, it would be even more difficult for other men to find a match for her.

Countless people are curious about the beloved of the young master of Lingjian Mountain, but no matter how much they discuss it, they can't figure it out, because they can hardly imagine what kind of man would be missed by the incomparably majestic master of Lingjian Mountain.

Where is the appraiser?

"I went down the mountain early this morning."

Ding Yao was taken aback: "Why did you suddenly come down the mountain again?"

Zhuo Wanqiu shook her head: "I don't know why either. She just seemed a little preoccupied. When she left, she wouldn't let me come with her, saying she was just going to the city to buy some things. But I always go with her when she goes shopping. I don't know what she's going to buy this time. By the way, Senior Sister Ding, is there anything you need to see the appraiser?"

"The Master of Appraisal announced that he has found someone he loves. Upon hearing this, the Peak Master and his wife rushed over immediately and are currently at the Cloud Peak Palace, waiting to see the Master of Appraisal. Could it be that the Master of Appraisal has gone off for a stroll again?"

"No, the son-in-law isn't here right now, where could the appraiser possibly be wandering off to?"

As the two were talking, a graceful figure suddenly appeared from Xuanjian Peak, riding the wind and landing gently in the chill.

The young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain returned to Xuanjian Peak, glanced at Ding Yao, and then looked towards his palace.

A moment later, inside the tea pavilion of the Cloud Top Palace.

Yan Jingxiang and his wife sat in the living room, looking at their daughter with an indescribable expression.

Last winter, their daughter suddenly disappeared and stayed outside for a month or so. When she came back, her lips were bitten and bleeding, which told them that she had met a young man with blond hair.

However, because the spiritual mirror could conceal the secrets of heaven, they had never been able to find anything.

Later, their daughter successfully entered the Boundless Realm, and Xuanjian Peak was filled with joy. They temporarily put the matter aside, never expecting that their daughter would directly admit it to the outside world today.

"Shuyi, tell your father, who exactly is that person?"

"No one, I just felt that the people from the Dao Seeking Sect were unusually noisy and disturbed my peaceful Dao mind, so I made up a few words to advise others to give up their ideas as soon as possible."

Yan Shuyi sat in the chair, his eyes cold and arrogant, his expression genuine.

Cui'er glanced at the appraiser and thought to herself that this was a lie, since the appraiser's bodice had clearly been almost torn apart by someone.

After she returned to the mountain, she secretly tried to knead it like that; her underwear was indeed a bit embarrassing to show.

Yan Jingxiang and his wife were also quite helpless. They knew that their daughter had been stubborn since she was a child, and with her high position over the years, no one could get her to say what she didn't want to say. So they left in silence.

Yan Shuyi's eyelashes trembled slightly at this moment: "By lying that I have someone I love, I can finally have some peace and quiet."

Ding Yao: "?"

Zhuo Wanqiu: "How could the appraiser even deceive himself?"

"I am about to begin my cultivation; you may all leave for now."

"Yes."

With the departure of the maidservants, the Cloud Palace fell completely silent.

Yan Shuyi remained serious for a while, and only when he saw that the aura outside the palace was getting further and further away did he suddenly reach out. A light flashed in his palm, and he took out a book with pictures from the storage gourd.

The cover reads "Secret Techniques," and the scene depicted is very simple, with just two or three people in each picture.

Lingzhou's commerce is quite prosperous, and you can find all kinds of things. Although such beautiful books cannot be openly sold, you can still find them if you look carefully.

The young appraiser opened the cover and looked at the secret techniques of the eighteen classes' battles in the room. Her cold and arrogant face gradually turned red, and her expression became more and more frightened.

As the ancients said, the way to overcome the fear of the unknown is to understand it.

Avoiding it will only create inner demons.

Therefore, even when facing death, the human race bravely rose up to meet the remnants of the race.

Since returning to the mountain after the Tiandao Society ended, Yan Shuyi has found that she has started to have inner demons. Sometimes she will suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and have to wash her own pants. So she made up her mind to secretly find out what was going on.

But after learning more, Yan Shuyi suddenly felt even more ashamed...

Or perhaps we should let Yuan Caiwei try it first...

However, if Yuan Caiwei tried first, she might take the spot from him. After pondering for a while, the little appraiser felt it would be better to let Ding Yao try first, so that she could tell him how to do it when she came back.

The fact that the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain claimed to have a sweetheart attracted attention from all sides of Qingyun Tianxia, ​​but because he did not say who it was, it did not cause a great impact.

Besides this matter, news also came in the cold winter that a disciple of the Dan Sect was trying to control a sacred artifact.

The change of power is often accompanied by countless related effects. It is said that after the news spread, many daughters of noble families and fairy maidens of sects were taken to Danshan as guests.

However, Yuan Chen still had the mind of a child. He wasn't very interested in the young ladies from noble families, but he was very interested in communicating with a rough sword cultivator from Lingjian Mountain, which made his family uneasy.

Meanwhile, some talented young people from Liangzhou and Yongzhou also visited Yuan Caiwei at Danshan during this period.

Shanhai Pavilion is the immortal sect closest to the Dan Sect. It is said that even Huo Xingzhong, the direct disciple of the Holy Son, was tempted and sent someone to deliver a jade-carved alchemy furnace ornament to it.

Even if the Pill Sect has no fighting power, it is still one of the immortal sects and still holds a sacred artifact.

Although Yuan Caiwei was not a direct disciple who could wield the sacred artifact, everyone knew that the direct disciples of the Dan Sect were most afraid of their elder sister and listened to her the most.

However, Yuan Caiwei didn't meet any of them, and she also announced to the public that she had a sweetheart, which sounded somewhat familiar. "Why is it such a coincidence that all these noble fairies suddenly have sweethearts?"

"Is it possible that the person they love is the same person?"

Whenever someone asked a question, certain knowledgeable passersby couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

Besides these things, there were also many other things, both big and small, that happened.

A small-scale conflict broke out between the aristocratic families under the Shan Hai Ge sect and the aristocratic families under the Chen clan, resulting in the deaths and injuries of dozens of cultivators.

Since these two immortal sects first clashed, they have never gotten along well, and their constant friction is not surprising.

Furthermore, a group of private cultivators appeared near Qingzhou and reportedly robbed a local minor family of their taxes under the cover of night, prompting a city-wide manhunt.

In addition, the Great Xia Dynasty announced an expansion of its army after the winter solstice, increasing the number of troops by 30%.

The proclamation was copied by local governments and posted throughout Kyushu.

The barbarian tribes have not made any unusual moves in the past year, and there have only been a few small-scale battles outside the northern border. However, everyone knows that their idea of ​​entering the Nine Provinces cannot be abandoned so easily. Therefore, the Emperor of Great Xia's desire to expand his army has not been hindered by the Immortal Sects and aristocratic families.

As for the Heavenly Academy, it was completely quiet.

To date, no one has been able to comprehend the Heavenly Book; all that has been announced is that people are going into seclusion, intending to break through to a higher realm.

For example, Xiao Hanyan and Shi Junhao were promised by the academy that they could become disciples as long as they entered the Yingtian Realm. Now that they have failed to enter the Holy Land of the Sages, they can only hone their cultivation over the years.

This festival lasts until the new year, and as red lanterns are hung high, the festive atmosphere gradually intensifies throughout the city.

All the restaurants and private courtyards in the city were fully booked, and the dancers and singers in the brothels were also invited away by the major families in the capital.

A grand banquet, the air thick with the aroma of wine.

Kuang Cheng started working early in the morning, tidying up the yard, chopping vegetables and making soup. Since Brother Ji was not here this year, he planned to invite Cao Jingsong and the others to his home for dinner. Of course, Wei Rui would definitely be there too.

It is said that Ms. Wei attended a banquet a few days ago and proudly declared that she already had someone she liked, but she did not say who it was.

However, this matter did not attract much attention.

Because very few people in Shengjing City were unaware that Wei Rui was in love with Kuang Cheng of the Imperial Observatory...

Not long after the sun had set, Wei Rui arrived at Kuang Cheng's courtyard ahead of time. She was dressed very obediently, and after entering, she put on an apron and helped Kuang Cheng prepare the meal.

New Year's Eve is a day for family reunion. Kuang Cheng had always thought that Wei Rui might not be able to come, so he was quite surprised when he saw her.

In fact, Wei Rui was worried that her family would not allow her to come, but to her surprise, her father and grandfather did not stop her.

After much thought, the two concluded that it was still because of Ji You.

The prominent families in the capital all liked to befriend the geniuses of the immortal sects, but the one they regretted most in recent years was Ji You.

Although Kuang Cheng was a scholar, he was Ji You's close friend.

Making friends isn't a stable relationship; it's far less reliable than a true friendship.

Although many people laughed at Ji You for being a rural hermit, no one questioned his character, and they knew that if they could befriend someone like him, he would really dare to step up if something happened.

In this situation, the relationship between Kuang Cheng and Ji You seemed almost unbreakable.
This is actually why Cao Jingsong was able to point and whisper among the crowd in the courtyard.

Generally speaking, the instructors in the outer academy only play a guiding role for students. Many outstanding students rarely keep in touch with their former instructors in the outer academy after entering the inner academy.

But Ji You is different in that even after he came out of the sacred land of the sages and actually arrived in Yingtian Realm, he would still respectfully address Cao Jingsong as Instructor.

Soon, Cao Jingsong and his group arrived at Kuang Cheng's courtyard with some wine.

Old Cao wasn't quite used to Ji You's absence.

What he's not used to is that he used to feel that his monthly salary wasn't enough to live on, but now he can't spend it all, he simply can't spend it all.

Bai Rulong wholeheartedly agreed, and missed the feeling of being able to reach into a money bag and touch the silver.

After eating for a while, there was a knock on the wooden door of Kuang Cheng's courtyard. A girl dressed as a maid and three constables from the Sixianjian (Immortal Supervisory Office) entered.

Because it was the New Year's Day, the maids were actually allowed to rest, not to mention the servants.

Upon seeing these unexpected visitors, everyone stopped drinking and eating.

The maid was Zhu'er, Wei Rui's personal maid. She quickly entered the courtyard and whispered something in Wei Rui's ear.

Wei Rui was slightly taken aback, then looked at Kuang Cheng.

"what happened?"

"Dou Yuankong has been found, he's not dead..."

"?"

The morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year should have been a time for visiting relatives and friends, a time of joy and laughter, but the atmosphere in the Dou residence was somber.

Princess Chang Le's carriage was traveling along the long street filled with snowmelt when it stopped in front of the Dou residence. As soon as she got out of the carriage, she saw Wei Rui and other officials from the Great Xia Dynasty.

At the very front of the crowd were several officials from the Bureau of Immortal Affairs, led by Kuang Cheng.

Most of these officials from the capital came to express their concern after hearing that the Dou family had found Dou Yuankong, while Kuang Cheng and the people from the Imperial Observatory came to find out what was going on.

Because after Dou Yuankong disappeared, Minister Dou had reported the case to the Imperial Observatory.

Soon, the gates of the Dou residence were pushed open by the steward.

The group followed them inside and entered the east courtyard.

Inside the dimly lit room, Dou Shangshu's figure could be seen from outside the door, his back hunched, as if he had aged more than ten years in an instant.

On the bed frame shrouded in shadow, a skeletal figure lay on the bed, barely breathing.

"grown ups."

"how's it going?"

The officer from the Imperial Observatory looked at Kuang Cheng: "We have questioned all those involved. The person was found in a farmer's house in Qingzhou. It is said that Dou Yuankong had been staying in this farmer's house for two months, being treated like a beast of burden. When he was rescued, he was no longer recognizable as a human."

Kuang Cheng glanced into the room: "Why did it take so long to discover this?"

"It was only when the taxes were collected a while ago that the police went to this farmer's house to take inventory that they noticed it. Later, it was reported to higher authorities, and someone went to investigate and confirmed that it was Dou Yuankong."

"How is he now?"

The constable from the Imperial Observatory glanced at him sideways: "He's missing an arm, and his body is covered in old wounds. There's one thing we need to pay special attention to: his shoulder..."

Upon hearing this, Kuang Cheng frowned, then led his men into the house. Minister Dou was forcing himself to stay alert, exchanging pleasantries with his colleagues. When he saw Kuang Cheng, a hint of malice flashed in his eyes.

"go out!"

Dou Yuankong was driven out of Shengjing because he tried to frame Ji You, but failed and was so frightened that he left the capital.

The conflict between Dou Yuankong and Ji You stemmed from the fact that Wei Rui, whom he liked, was in love with Kuang Cheng.

Therefore, in Minister Dou's eyes, Kuang Cheng was also the culprit who caused his son to be in this state.

Kuang Cheng looked at Minister Dou and said, "I am here on official business. I think Minister Dou would also like to know what your son has encountered outside."

The officials nearby also tried to persuade him.

Minister Dou gritted his teeth and turned his head to make way for Kuang Cheng.

Upon seeing this, Kuang Cheng walked closer and looked down for a long time. Dou Yuankong had lost his right arm, leaving only an empty sleeve.

After a long silence, Kuang Cheng unbuttoned his outer robe and pulled his inner robe aside, his eyes instantly turning gloomy.

There is a claw mark of half a five-fingered hand on the spot where Dou Yuankong's left arm was severed. The claw mark is deep into the flesh, with a sharp tip and a purplish-black color.

Upon seeing this, the entire room fell silent instantly. Everyone's eyes widened, and even their breathing became incredibly clear.

"It's an evil species...?!"

"Impossible. After the incident at Qiling, the seven major immortal sects, fearing further chaos, have already dispatched powerful figures to completely eradicate all evil seeds. It's impossible for any evil seeds to still exist in the world."

Kuang Cheng pondered for a long time: "Where is that farmer's house?"

Upon hearing this, the constable from the Imperial Observatory replied, "Shitang Village, Sanli County, Wanhe Prefecture, in the far northwest of Qingzhou."

Sanli County is the poorest county in Qingzhou. The entire county is located in rolling mountains, and the name Sanli comes from the fact that there is only three li of flat land in the entire county.

Kuang Cheng raised his eyes: "Go back to the Imperial Observatory and immediately report to the Observatory Chief, and have the Observatory send people to investigate. This matter could be big or small, and we must find out the truth."

"Yes."

Dou Yuankong lost an arm, and the evil creature's claw marks on his shoulder were quickly reported, causing a great deal of discussion within the Imperial Observatory.

At noon that day, a small team from the Inspection Department was dispatched to Sanli County in Wanhe County, Qingzhou.

(End of this chapter)